Lafarge-Holcim merger sparks protest in Nigeria

The planned merger of France's Lafarge and Swiss peer, Holcim has sparked protest from construction workers in Lagos, Nigeria.

The planned merger of France's Lafarge and Swiss peer, Holcim has sparked a protest around the globe, with construction workers in Nigeria taking it to the street.

The merger, if achieved will make Lafarge-Holcim the biggest cement company in the world with no pair.

The construction workers under the Construction and Civil Engineering Senior Staff Association (CCESSA) in Nigeria, gathered last two weeks in Lagos to join other construction workers in 22 countries in the world to protest the merger of two multinational cement companies.

Addressing the workers, who displayed placards with the slogan: “No merger without workers’ rights”, CCESSA’s National President, Dr. Augustine Etafo, stated that the marriage of the two companies would cause over 15,000 job loss in the short run and 50,000 in the long run.

He said: “Global unions, BWI and industrial EFBWW, and Holcim and Larfage workers around the world are kicking off the campaign to guarantee that the condition of workers in parts of the business that are sold off be protected and guaranteed that all workers collective agreements be honoured by the merged company.

According to Etafo, the protest followed a meeting of 75 union leaders from 22 countries held last November 2014, which recommended a program of actions against the merger in 2015.

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